| FineArtViews - The AMP Newsletter
Hi There,
FASO artists and creators have sold over $1,028,352 worth of art in the last 90 days days using our proven Art Marketing Program (AMP).
AMP was designed to help artists at every phase during their journey. Whether you're at the beginning of your art career or you're an established artist looking to boost your art sales to new heights, our program has helped thousands of artists reach their goals.
The FASO platform allows users to easily create and manage a beautiful, customized website. But beyond that, we want people to actually see it. That's why we'll promote you through a Special Edition Newsletter that reaches over 49,000 collectors, gallery owners and art enthusiasts when you become a member.
In the article below, artist Debra Keirce discusses building momentum to build continuous success. Take this opportunity to drive qualified, engaged visitors to your new FASO website and build your momentum by clicking here to sign-up for your free trial today!
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Enjoy, Clint Watson
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Momentum is a thing. Once you get a ball rolling, it's easier to keep it rolling than to get it going again if it stops. Have you used this fact to your advantage in your art career?
I bet once you start thinking about this, you can come up with lots of ways you can use momentum to build more robust and targeted marketing strategies. Here are a few examples to inspire your thoughts.
1. Use a successful show as a way to get more opportunities.
One of my artist friends had a wonderful experience with her first solo art exhibit at a well known hospital. She was interviewed by her local tv station and even got a feature on People Magazine's e-zine. She was able to use these successes to secure three commissioned pieces. These will likely lead to other commissions. But now, she is using the testimonials and photos from this show as she applies to other show venues. She has ideas for future painting series that build on the first responder theme she used with this one.
What parts of past shows are worth repeating? In this example, it would make sense to reach out to that tv station, and to the writer for People Magazine with images and descriptions of your next art show. They may not want to interview you again, but you can ask if they know anybody else who may be looking for content. And once they get to know you, they may feature you the fourth or fifth time you ask. All they can do is say no.
I have two small groups of artists I work with and we organize exhibitions of our paintings at museums around the world. We've been doing this for several years now, so we are able to approach some venues without even going through the submission and approval process we initially used.
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| Just like marketing and sales, places that host art shows are more receptive to you once you build a relationship with them.
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| We have shown at some of these locations more than once, and our group shows have led to solo shows at several as well. All of these have led to acquisitions, sales and commissions.
Once you have enough work for one respected gallery or art center or museum show, you can brainstorm other exhibit locations. Online, airports, universities, retirement homes, and country clubs may be more approachable if you can show them how well your art looked in other places.
2. Use a successful workshop to line up more teaching events.
One friend of mine had a successful business teaching workshops around the world. She knew she couldn't sustain the frequent travel required to teach 20 or more workshops each year. It was so interesting to watch her transition her business to online workshops over a number of years. Now, she offers location based workshop experiences, but she uses the photos and videos she took when visiting Europe years ago to bring her students to France and Italy remotely.
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| After building momentum from teaching workshops, my friend evolved her program into a subscription based plan with different participation and pricing levels. She never let the momentum slow as her mailing list of students continues to grow to this day.
FASO now allows us to create these sorts of opportunities for our followers, right from our own websites.
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Many of us offer one on one lessons or mentoring. Quite often, people who study with me will attend my 4 day workshops. Many of my new students find me through existing students. So, whenever I teach anything anywhere, I am careful to explain all of the services I offer.
3. One sale has the potential to lead to more.
Bundling is a sales technique I've watched my gallery owners use. When a collector finds a painting they want to purchase, it's one of the best times for them to think about buying more than one. Pointing them toward additional pieces, without it coming across as being pushy - that's an advanced skill only the best sales people have. It's way above my pay grade, but I've seen it work time and again.
Some ways I use the momentum from one sale to lead to more are probably familiar to you. But maybe there are some here that you haven't tried yet.
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| I post sold pieces on social media. On more than one occasion, when people see that something has sold, they have contacted me to commission a similar piece.
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| If I know that several paintings will be displayed together, I will try to frame them in a way that they look good hanging together. If you make it easier for collectors to imagine pieces in a grouping, they may come back for a second or third piece.
Once someone purchases your art, you have their attention. Reaching out with emails, snail mail, social media and a regular newsletter allows you to stay on their radar, and they are more likely to purchase from you again.
One of my gallery owners used to put three red dots on every sold piece in a show. He found that calling attention to sales resulted in an excitement that got more people thinking about what they wanted to take home. There are artists who feel like downplaying sales works better for them.
That's not my approach.
I try to keep track when people who follow me mention that they like a particular painting. Then, I circle back to them when the piece sells. I talk about other works I have in the same sizes and with similar subjects. If you notice, eBay does this. They send you an email on lost bids, saying you didn't get this one, but here are some other things you may like...
Everyone likes first dibs. One way to make a gallery or a collector feel special is to offer them first dibs on a piece you just created. I do this when I paint something similar to a recently sold painting.
4. One art talk often leads to more art talks.
I was invited to speak at a high school art show once. One of the parents in the audience gave my name to a local art club. A friend heard that I was giving a talk for them and passed my name on to the leaders at her art society. From there, I'm not sure of exactly how it happened, but I ended up giving about a dozen talks that year. I did no promotion. It was all word of mouth. I learned that art societies are always looking for speakers. If you tap into other groups, and actually work to let people know you have interesting things to say, you may have opportunities to give art talks at universities, museums, art centers, etc. Our local craft breweries and wineries often have guest speakers on lots of different topics.
Once I gave a few art talks, I realized how many places there are that welcome speakers. Many pay an honorarium of $100 or more for your time. During the pandemic, I have given half a dozen art talks over zoom. Sales and new students have come from these efforts.
I'm sure the Toastmasters and other organizations have lots of resources, if art talks seem like an important part of your art journey. Any time more people learn about you and what you do, it boosts your marketing and sales successes.
What momentum can you work with in your art journey to manifest more successes?
I was a chemical engineer in the 1980's and 1990's. I had lots of little tricks for keeping my projects on track. One of the things I did almost every day, was to ask myself these questions. The devil is in the details, and remembering all the nuances of a project can be daunting. If you are having trouble identifying the things you can do to create more successes, perhaps you will find this list of prompts useful too.
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| Where? For example: Where am I getting the most positive feedback? Where do I want to steer my art toward? Where am I seeing the most growth? Where do I need to work harder to improve?
Why?
For example: Why do these particular things feel successful to me? Why is this succeeding for me when others are not? Why are collectors responding favorably to these things?
What?
For example: What am I enjoying? What am I doing well? What am I learning? What do I want to happen?
When?
For example, When do I expect to see results? When do I plan to take action to keep things going in the right direction? When should I quit or change direction? When do I want to increase my efforts?
Who?
For example: Who can I ask to help me? Who can I learn from? Who do I need to connect with? Who is my ideal collector?
How?
For example: How do I know what I'm doing is working? How will I plan this so it's sustainable? How exactly can I increase my sales using what I've learned?
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| 5. Prioritize. Don't try to chase all your opportunities at once.
Maybe you're reading this, and creating a long list of the many successes you could build on. Be sure to start with just one or two. It can get overwhelming if you try to do it all.
Also, think about what direction you want to take that will line you up for your long-term strategies. If you don't enjoy teaching, maybe that's a lower priority than giving more art talks. Chase the art talk momentum, and maybe you'll be on the Ted Talk stage one day!
Have you already applied this strategy of building success momentum into your art business? How did it work our for you?
Share what successes you decide to build on now, and how. People want to know. Reply back with YOUR story.
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| Debra Keirce Regular Contributing Author, FineArtViews www.DebKArt.com
PS - For more ways to maximize the Art Marketing Program, click here to register now for the How to Create an Engaging Homepage Slideshow in FASO webinar on June 11 at 12:00 PM ET / 11:00 AM CT / 10:00 AM MT / 9:00 AM PT.
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